Philadelphia, PA 2013—The Penn Museum invites guests to take an armchair journey across exotic lands and seas with "Great Voyages: Travels, Triumphs, and Tragedies," a new monthly lecture series offered at 6:00 pm the first Wednesday evening of every month, October 2013 through June 2014. Renowned scholars, including Oceanographer Robert Ballard, Penn Classical Studies Associate Professor Peter Struck, and Penn Museum Curator Clark Erickson, share tales of epic journeys drawn from thousands of years of human history. Lecturers explore voyages as varied as those of the legendary Gilgamesh, the tragic sinking of the Titanic, and Magellan's circumnavigation of the Earth.

HIJINKS WITH THE SPHINXThe Penn Museum in Philadelphia Celebrates 100 Years with the Largest Ancient Egyptian Sphinxin the Western Hemisphere

PHILADELPHIA, PA 2013—It came by boat, arriving in Philadelphia in October 1913—an ancient Egyptian Sphinx from Memphis, Egypt, excavated by renowned archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie and presented to the Penn Museum on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Extraordinary by any measure, the Sphinx was carved from one massive piece of red granite, bearing the names of the great Pharaoh Ramesses II, and his son and successor, the Pharaoh Merenptah, both of whom reigned during Egypt’s 19th Dynasty (1292–1190 BCE).

From Gallery Romps (for ages 3 to 6 and their parents or chaperones), to Second Sunday Family Workshops (drop-ins welcome, suitable for ages 5 and older), from 40 Winks with the Sphinx Sleepovers (ages 6 to 12 and their chaperones), to World Culture Days and Afternoons (fun for all ages), Penn Museum offers families age-appropriate programs to inspire, educate and enjoy.

BRITISH MUSEUM AND THE PENN MUSEUM JOIN FORCES TO CREATENEW WEB RESOURCE OF FAMOUS 1922–34 EXCAVATIONS AT UR IN IRAQ***$1.28 Million Grant From the Leon Levy Foundation Fosters this New Collaboration Around the Ancient Site

JULY 2013—The British Museum and the Penn Museum are embarking on a dynamic digital collaboration, made possible with $1.28 million in lead support from the Leon Levy Foundation that will provide unprecedented access to the archaeology of the ancient kingdom of Ur. This new online resource will open the remarkably successful Mesopotamian excavations conducted by Sir Leonard Woolley on behalf of both museums from 1922–1934—excavations which brought to light some of archaeology’s most extraordinary and famous finds—to scholars and the public alike.

Year of Sound: Hollywood in the AmazonAugust 18, 2013 through July 27, 2014

In 1931, an expedition from the Penn Museum introduced a revolutionary new research method in the remote Amazonian jungles of Brazil. Transporting state-of-the-art equipment by sea, air, and river, the team arrived in territory occupied by the Bororo people and recorded an expeditionary film, Matto Grosso, the Great Brazilian Wilderness, incorporating live sound. It was the first time non-Western people were seen and heard on sound-synced film.

For the most updated information on programs offered at the Penn Museum, and for online pre-registration (optional or required for some programs) visit the Museum's website: www.penn.museum/calendar. To access hi-res images for press, click here.

Bone Tumor Identified in 120,000-Year-Old Rib of NeandertalFrom Famous Cave Excavation Site of Krapina in Central Europe

PHILADELPHIA, PA, June 2013—The first-known definitive case of a benign bone tumor has been discovered in the rib of a young Neandertal who lived about 120,000 years ago in what is now present-day Croatia. The bone fragment, which comes from the famous archaeological cave site of Krapina, contains by far the earliest bone tumor ever identified in the archaeological record. Details of the tumor confirmation, announced by an international research team led by Penn Museum Associate Curator and Paleoanthropologist Janet Monge, is available in a research paper, "Fibrous dysplasia in a 120,000+ year old Neandertal from Krapina, Croatia," in the online scientific journal PLOS ONE.

New BIOMOLECULAR aRCHAEOLOGICAL EvidencePoints to the Beginnings of Viniculture in France***9,000 Year Old Ancient Near Eastern “Wine Culture,” Traveling Land and Sea,Reaches Southern Coastal France, Via Ancient Etruscans of Italy, in 6th-­5th Century BCE

PHILADELPHIA, PA June 3, 2013—France is renowned the world over as a leader in the crafts of viticulture and winemaking—but the beginnings of French viniculture have been largely unknown, until now.

Time to Shine: Penn Museum Raises More than $49 MillionDuring University's Making History Campaign

March 1, 2013—Last night, University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann announced the conclusion of the truly historic, multi-year Making History Campaign, which raised an extraordinary $4.3 billion.

Penn Museum has raised more than $49 million, thanks to the generosity and commitment of literally thousands of donors who came forth and contributed during the Campaign.